Unstacker device



Oct. 25, 1955 o. KILE 2,721,644

uNsTAcKER DEVICE Filed Aug. 25, 1954 s sheets-sheet 1 Oct. 25, 1955 o. KILE UNSTACKER DEvCE Filed Aug. 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 25, 1955 Y o. KrLE 2,721,644

UNSTACKER DEVICE Filed Aug. 23. 1954 :s sham-sheet 5 FIE. E

Zia

V7214144 UNs'rAcKER Dnvrci:

yOtho Kille, Homewood, Ill., assignor to R. Donnelley H & Sens, Company; a corporation of Illinois Application August 23, 1954, Serial No. 451,503

8 Claims. (Cl. 19E-.735)

This invention' relates `to an unstacker device for receiving a series of stacks of sheets and removing the top sheetfrom each Vstack'in the series to place it in a gap in the series behind the stack from which it was removed.

y The present device is of considerable value in handling either Vsinglel sheets'or thin booklets, such as specialty catalogs, after they have been printed. As an example of a use to which such devices are put, a saddle stitcher of thetype which is employed for the binding of certain types magazines and specialty catalogs ordinarily delivers .b ks 'to atrimmer 4from which they are delivered in ks of two, and it is necessary to remove the top book .et eeh Train ify any further Preeessing is te be performed .nren'the books" i Stacks of two books coming from a trimmer may be delivered to the unstacker with a space at least as big as boek between .each Steek 0f tWQ- The unstacker femoves'the top book from a pair at a sheet transfer area, carries it around an unstacker drum, and places it on an outfeedchain in an open space in Vthe series of books behind the book from which it was removed. Ult' is obvious that a series of similar devices could be used to break down a larger stack into single sheets or single books.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the device substantially'along the'line 1 1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view partially in section, taken as indicated along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View on an enlarged scale taken as indicated along the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the machine includes side frame members and 11 having stay shafts 12 and 13 and shaft journal plates 14 and 15 mounted on the stay shafts interiorly of the frame members 10 and 11. lournalled on the stay shaft 12 between the frame member 10 and the bearing plate 14 is a drive hub 16 provided with a drive sprocket 17 and a pinion 18.

lournalled in the bearing plates 14 and 15 is an unstacker drum, indicated generally at 19, which includes a drum shaft 20 having a drive gear 21 which meshes with pinion 18. The drum shaft 20 is provided with a pair of spaced drum elements 22a and 22b within which are supported longitudinal air delivery tubes 23, 24 and 25, each of said air delivery tubes carrying a gang of eight nozzles, designated respectively 23a, 24a and 25a. As best seen in Fig. 1, the air nozzles 23a, 24a and 25a extend radially to points substantially level with the sur-faces of the drums 22a and b. Since the unstacker drum rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 the air nozzles follow each other around in numerical sequence. Secured to the ends of the air delivery tubes 23, 24 and 25 at one end is an air valve plate 26, while the opposite ends of the tubes are closed by screw plugs 231:, 24b and 25b.

Projecting inwardly from the journal plate 14 is a set of mounting brackets 27 for a fixed air delivery member United States Patent O 2,721,644 Patented Oeh .25, 13.5.5

. 2 28 which, as best seen in Fig. 3, has a surface abutting the air valve plate 26. As seen in Figs. 1 and 3, Lthe air delivery member i28 has an arcuate air slot 29 which l5 on a Acircle drawn through the air delivery tubes 23, 24 and 25, so that each tube is placed in communication with the air slot on each rotation of the unstacker drum 19. An air inlet tube so has a ttins 31 sperling into the air slot 29, and communicates at :its outer end with a standard commercial two-way air valve 32 WhQh has a Self-centained Spring leaded cam vfollower (not shown), Se that `the valve may be moved between 4its .two positions by a cam 33 mounted on the drive hub 16.

One side of the twofway valve 32 conneets t9 an air suction line 32a, while .the other side connects ,to an ,air pressure line 32h, so that the air line 30, and thus the air delivery slot .29, may be placed alternately inte communi? cation with Said Suction and pressnre lines as the valve 3 2 is moved back and forth by'aetion 0f the earn 3431t The Pinion 1li makes three revolutions for each revolution of the ,Unstaelier drum gear ,21, andthe earn 33 is se designed as te reverse the valve 32 Once for .each revolution, or three times for each revolution of unstacker drum As seen in Fisl, books B1 and B2 in a Steek S 0f two hoehe enter the. nnstaeher 0n an 4infeesl .Chain 34 which passes around a spreeket vand is provided with lugs ,35 which are Srseefl apart a snflleientillstanee that there .is the Space 0f a heels between, eaeh twg steelss The steelss S are picked from the in feetl Chain .3A by a pir .ef spaced sheet transfer belts 37 Whiehare 4in resister with the uneteeker .f lrurn .members Y2.2@ and 22.11 and ete driven'around suitable rollers 38 and 39 and a tensioning ,feller 49, which is mounted en e .Spring leaded tensioning 'ann 4.1 The Pelt 37 moves in the slireetien ef the arrows in Fig. 1, and contacts the bottom of the unstacker drum members 22a and 22b so as to provide a sheet transfer area 42. The air nozzles 23a, 24a and 25a are in communication with' the air sloty 29 as they pass through the sheet transfer area 42.

The device is provided with guide means, indicated generally at 43, in the form of tensioning guide rollers 44 journalled on spring loaded rocker arms 45 supported on the stay shaft 12, rollers 46 journalled on the stay shaft 13, rollers 47 and 48 adjacent the bottom of the drum 19, and guide belts 49 which are trained over the guide rollers so as to run over the drum members 22a and 22b.

Single books are removed seriatirn from the sheet transfer area 42 by means of an outfeed chain 50 which passes around sprockets 51 and S2 and a third sprocket which is not shown, and the chain 50 is provided with lugs 53 which are so spaced as to carry books from the sheet transfer means seriatm with no substantial space between them.

The reversing of the valve 32 in synchronization with the rotation of' the unstacker drum 19 causes alternate suction and pressure ou the air slot 29, and the sequence of operation is as follows: The nozzles 23a for the air tubes 23 as they are shown in Fig. l are in communication with the air slot 29 which is on a suction cycle, so that the nozzle 23a has picked a book B2 olf the book B1. The nozzles 24a and 25a of the air tubes 24 and 25 are not in communication with the air slot 29, so that they are idle. However, the air nozzles 24a had picked up a book B2 on their last previous rotation through the transfer area 42 and carried it into the guide belts 49 for passage around the unstacker drum 19; and are now prepared to deflect the book B2 onto the outfeed conveyor 50 behind the book B1 from which the nozzle 23a has just lifted a book. As the air tube 23 passes off the air slot 29 the cam 33 reverses the air valve 32 so as to put pressure on the air slot 29 as the air tube 24 moves into communication with it. Thus an air blast passes through the nozzle 24a which blows the forward margin of the 3 book B2 held adjacent said nozzle onto the outfeed chain 50, ahead of the lugs 53a which are at the bottom of the chain in Fig. 1.

The nozzles 25a are idle, since they have just blown a book B2 onto the outfeed chain 50, and when the nozzles 25a reach the air slot 29 the slot will be on suction again so that the nozzles 25a may pick up the next succeeding book B2 of a stack of two at the sheet transfer area 42.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. An unstacker device for receiving a series of stacks of sheets and removing the top sheet from each stack in the series to place it in a position in the series behind said stack, comprising: a rotatable unstackcr drum; driven infeed means for feeding a series of spaced stacks of sheets to a sheet transfer area under the drum; guide means for carrying a sheet around the drum; driven outfeed means for removing sheets from said sheet transfer area; and air blast means for dellecting the top sheet of a stack in the sheet transfer area into the guide means for travel around the drum and for deflecting said sheet into the outfeed means in a space behind a stack after it has travelled around the drum.

2. The device of claim l in which the air blast means includes air tubes spaced circumferentially within the drum, and means for alternately causing an air blast in opposite directions through said tubes at the sheet transfer area on alternate rotations of the drum.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the infeed means is adapted to feed sheets to the sheet transfer area in stacks of two, and the outfeed means is adapted to remove sheets seriatim from said area.

4. An unstacker device for receiving a series of stacks of sheets and removing the top sheet from each stack in the series to place it in a position in the series behind said stack, comprising: a rotatable unstacker drum having a plurality of circumferentially spaced air tubes; driven infeed means for feeding a series of spaced stacks of sheets to a sheet transfer area under the drum; guide means for carrying a sheet around the drum; driven outfeed means for removing sheets from said sheet transfer area; air suction and air pressure means communicating with said air tubes; and means synchronized with the rotation of said drum for placing said suction and pressure means in communication with any given air tube alternately on successive movements of said tube through the sheet transfer area, whereby an air tube may draw the top sheet off a stack in said area, carry it around the drum in cooperation with said guide means, and deflect it into the outfeed means in a space behind the stack from which it was drawn.

5. The device of claim 4 in which a fixed air delivery member is provided which is in contact with the drum, said air delivery member having an arcuate air slot with which the air tubes communicate in the sheet transfer area, and valve means are provided to place the air suction and pressure means alternately into communication with said air delivery member.

6. The device of claim 5 in which the valve means consists of a two way valve, and a cam synchronized with the rotation of the drum actuates said valve means to reverse the valve connections as the air tubes pass successively over the slot.

7. The device of claim 4 in which the infeed means includes an infeed chain and a sheet transfer belt which carries stacks of sheets from said chain through the sheet transfer area.

8. An unstacker for receiving a series of stacks of sheets and removing the top sheet from each stack to place it in a space behind said stack, comprising: a rotatable drum having an odd number of circumferentially spaced air tubes; driven infeed means for delivering a series of spaced stacks of sheets to a sheet transfer area beneath said drum; guide means for guiding a sheet around said drum; driven outfeed means for removing sheets from the sheet transfer area; and reversible air blast supply means adapted to deliver air alternately on suction and on pressure to said tubes so they pass successively through said sheet transfer area, whereby each tube may draw the top sheet off a stack at the transfer area on one revolution of the drum and blow it into the outfeed means in a space behind said stack on the next revolution.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,325,774 Hohl Aug. 3, 1943 

